The Girl In My Dreams
by Angelina Johnson
Summary: Growing up Muggle, Val Bradley learns the truth that she is a witch and she goes to Hogwarts. A Weasley Twins/Lee/Chasers fic, but Harry plays a huge part late into it. Prologue and first two chapters, and this thing is already longer than Runaway Convic
1. Prologue- Val Bradley's Adventures With ...

**Title: **The Girl In My Dreams (Prologue/10)  
  
**Author: **Angelina Johnson  
  
**E-mail: **BlewGoo2@aol.com  
  
**Category: **Romance/ Angst/Darkfic  
  
**Keywords: ** Fred Weasley, Quidditch, Fire, Muggles  
  
**Spoilers: **All Books  
  
**Rating: **PG-13  
  
**Summary:** Growing up a Muggle, Val Bradley learns the truth that she is a witch, and leaves her American Muggle family behind to live with her aunt. She attends Hogwarts, and many adventures are abound for the little witch.   
  
**Disclaimer:** This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.  
  
**A/N: **Val Bradley is the same age as the Weasley twins, Katie Bell, Angelina Johnson, Alicia Spinnet, and Lee Jordan. This story takes place during their Hogwarts school days. Also, American Goblins are different than European Goblins, like the ones that work in Gringott's.  
  
**The Girl In My Dreams**  
**Prologue**  
Val Bradley's Adventures With "Goblins"  
  
Mr. Brandon Bradley was a balding man of fifty-five. He had ever graying hair, and was rather short, and on the plump side. He had a pleasant face, for he was usually smiling, and his eyes of brown twinkled from behind his glasses. His most proud accomplishment was, aside from his family, the fact that he was a respected business man. At least, he was before "it" happened.  
  
Brandon was married to the fifty year old Elizabeth. Unlike Brandon, "Liza" Bradley was tall and thin. Her hair was just as red as it had been when she was fifteen years old, and it was ridiculously long for a woman of Elizabeth's age.  
  
The happy couple lived in a small town in Rhode Island, and they had four children. Brandon, Jr., was of average height and weight, he had sparkling green eyes, and his brown hair was long, and Brandon, Sr., thought his son's hair quite ridiculous. Brandon, Jr., was the oldest, however, and was away at college most of the year.  
  
The twins, Jenny and Karly, were fourteen, and they were identical in almost every way. They were tall, like their mother, for they were already nearly six feet tall at only fourteen. They had sparkling blue eyes that shone like crystals, and they each had honey-blond hair. Karly wore hers slightly shorter than Jenny's, and she often curled it. Jenny always wore her hair straight, and when she wore it in a ponytail, the shorter layers framed her face and made her look like an angel. Each twin was fairly smart, as they had constantly been on the A-B honor roll during their two years at high school. Karly was more of the girly-girl prototype than her twin, wearing more make-up and being more concerned with boys. Jenny played softball and was much more athletic than her twin. They were equally popular, and wouldn't have traded their lives for anything.  
  
The Bradley family would have been close to perfect if it had stopped there, but in every family there was a problem child, and for the Bradley's, Valerie Elizabeth, or "Val", was that child. The ten year old had the same crystal blue eyes as her sisters, but they were often hidden behind her reading glasses. Her father said that Val always had her nose in a book. Val's hair was straight as a stick, and it cascaded softly around her shoulders on the rare occasion that she wore it down. However, her dirty-blond hair was often up in a messy bun that her parents detested. These things alone would not have been enough to make her the family problem child, for it was the fact that Val was constantly talking about imaginary creatures like dragons and goblins, and the books she read, the ones about witchcraft and imaginary things, was what upset her parents most of all.  
  
Mr. and Mrs. Bradley strongly detested witchcraft, strongly detested magic, strongly detested imagination in general. It upset Val very much that her parents disapproved of the things she loved to dream about, but it was not enough to stop her from reading about these things, not enough to stop her imagination.  
  
Not enough to stop the weird things from happening.  
  
Not enough to stop "it".  
  
It was a perfectly normal day, a good day. The sun was shining brightly, and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. It wasn't too hot as it normally was on an early summer day like this one, and a gentle breeze ruffled through your hair if you walked outside. It truly was a good day, that day that "it" first happened.  
  
But Mr. Bradley had just settled into his favorite lounge chair when Karly's screams pierced the peaceful air.  
  
"Daddy, Daddy, there's a rat under the rug! Oh, Daddy, please come quickly and kill the disgusting little rodent!" Mr. Bradley jumped out of his chair and ran to where his daughter was screaming. Jenny had joined in the screaming, and Mr. Bradley felt like he was going deaf, for the combined screams of the twins was, indeed, deafening.  
  
But there was no rat to be seen when Mr. Bradley entered the room, only a tousled rug and a knocked over lamp were in sight.  
  
Jenny and Karly both looked horrified.  
  
"I don't see any rats here, girls, just a mess," Mr. Bradley said, as calmly as he could.  
  
"Oh, Daddy, it was there, I saw it with my own eyes," Karly whined, and Jenny nodded in agreement.  
  
"Oh, girls..............."  
  
"Dad, that was no rat," said Val as she emerged from behind the twins. Her statement had an eerie effect, and one supposed her unexpected entrance added to it quite a bit.  
  
"Then what was it, a werewolf?" Jenny couldn't quite hold back a small smile when she heard her twin's crack.  
  
"No, I don't think so. I'm not quite sure what it is yet, but I think it may have been a goblin." Jenny stopped smiling when her little sister spoke these words. It was as though she actually believed in goblins and werewolves, which, she reminded herself, was true.  
  
"A goblin?" Mr. Bradley looked furious, and then said, "Valerie Elizabeth Bradley, how many times have I told you not to talk about magical creatures such as goblins in this house? I will have no more of this nonsense, because it does not exist."  
  
"Ha, small fry," Karly whispered in her ear as she left the room.  
  
"But goblins are real, Jen, you've got to believe me!" Val protested, sounding a bit desperate. Jenny sighed, and walked up to the room that she shared with Karly.  
  


~~~  
  


The next time "it" happened was just a few days later. Mr. Bradley's boss, Mr. Warner, had invited himself, his wife, and his two daughters to dinner at the Bradley's house, and Mrs. Bradley had frantically prepared a marvelous dinner in no time.   
  
Mr. Warner's older daughter, Amy, was a good friend of Karly's, so she felt welcome in the household on that fateful evening. Polly Warner, the younger of the Warner girls, was a sworn enemy of Val's, and her sole purpose in life was to make Val miserable. That night, Val was given orders to humor Polly.  
  
The girls had eaten pizza in the living room and then had headed upstairs, leaving the adults to their fancy meal in the dining room. However, Val and Polly had barely made it into Val's bedroom before the yelling started. Soon there was the pounding of feet as they ran down the stairs.  
  
"Dad!" Polly yelled, "She worships the devil!" Polly pointed an accusing finger at Val.  
  
"I do not," Val yelled back defensively.  
  
The arguing was interrupted by screams from the living room, where Jenny had been watching television by herself.  
  
"Rat, rat!" Jenny shrieked. Mr. Bradley jumped up and ran to the living room, and Mrs. Warner and Polly jumped up on chairs in attempt to protect themselves from the rat. Mrs. Warner clung to her husband.  
  
Val ran after her dad, yelling, "The goblin's back!"  
  
There was a lump in the carpet, scurrying to and fro. Jenny caught the lamp as it tipped dangerously close to doom. Karly and Amy had come down to see what all the commotion was about, and Mr. Warner had freed himself from his wife's grasp, hoping to get to the bottom of things.   
  
Wracking his brain for a solution, Mr. Bradley grabbed a chair and lifted it high above his head. He brought it crashing down, just barely missing his target. One of the chair's legs snapped off from the effort, but the creature under the rug had slipped away again.  
  
"Bradley! You're fired!" Mr. Warner boomed angrily. Mr. Bradley watched Amy, Polly, and Mr. and Mrs. Warner walk out the door before screaming in frustration. He didn't say anything, or look at anyone, he just grabbed a bottle of aspirin and went to be without another word to his family.  
  
Jenny and Karly stared at each other in disbelief, and Val whispered, "Oh, you horrid little goblin, now see what you've done!"  
  


~~~  
  


Two weeks passed, and it happened again.  
  
It started the same old way, with the lump in the carpet, forming and rustling around. Val looked ghostly white as the creature moved about. That's when the lights went out. Mr. Bradley heard a thud, something ripping, screams........ All the noises blended together and penetrated his eardrums; it was impossible for any one sound to register in his mind.  
  
When the lights flickered back on, the Bradley's were faced with a gigantic mess. Broken lamps, shredded books, and scattered papers were littered about the room. There was a large rip in the carpet, and a hole in the floor. Some things, however, remained untouched, and Val had vanished all together.  
  
Jenny glanced at the hole. There was a long tunnel extending into the blackness, but she didn't dare enter it.  
  
Karly, Jenny, Brandon and Liza Bradley all looked around frantically, searching for Val, but she was no where to be seen.  
  
Finally, Karly broke the silence, and asked the unaskable: "Where's Val?" A piece of paper fell from above into Jenny's hands, and she read it out loud.   
  
"If your sister you seek,  
Then you must wait another week,  
Once I return from my leave,  
You must prove that you believe,  
To win your sister back,  
Prove to me you're on the right track."  
  
"What on earth?" Karly said.  
  
"It's signed 'The Goblin'," Jenny said.  
  
"Damn it, Liza, I should have known," Brandon said.  
  
"Known what? Aren't you going to do something, call someone?" Karly asked, for once showing concern for Val.  
  
"No, girls, there's nothing we can to, your sister's life is in your hands now. You have to wait for the goblin to come back." Liza and Brandon both frowned.  
  
"What are you talking about, Dad? Magic and goblin's aren't real, this is just some sicko's way of trying to throw us off track of his kidnapping," Karly said.  
  
"I'm afraid that's not true, Karly. Your aunt is a witch, and for quite a while, Val has shown magical talent. That's why we were so upset when she became interested in fantasy, and magic. Val believes, and it's up to you to save her." With that, Brandon and Elizabeth walked up stairs, wearing identical frowns.  
  
"This is bogus, Jen! What are they trying to pull? There is no goblin. You know it, and I know it, and we've known it for years, right, Jenny?" Karly asked. Jenny frowned as the realization hit her........ And her twin.  
  
"You! You believe this bull shit, don't you? You've believed this whole time! Why the hell didn't you admit it? Why, Jen? Why do you believe it?"  
  
Karly turned her back on Jenny, leaving her twin with the wreckage. Jenny began sorting through it, looking for something that could be salvaged.  
  


~~~  
  


Jenny felt as if she had been reborn, as if a great weight had been lifted off of her very shoulders. Being able to admit that she believed was the best thing that had happened to Jenny Bradley in ages.  
  
But Jenny believing was not enough to save Val. She had to convince Karly.  
  
Day after day, Jenny tried to convince her twin to believe in magic, but Karly refused. Jenny was persistent, though, and each day she tried a little harder.  
  
Then came the day of the goblin's return.  
  
It was as though there was a huge gust of wind throughout the house. Jenny shivered, not because she was cold, but because she knew that the goblin would not be satisfied if only Jenny believed, and that could put Val's life on the line.  
  
Jenny and Karly tiptoed into the living room. Standing there was the single most ugly creature that they had ever seen. It's skin was a leathery brown-green, and from it's chest poked four things that looked almost like sticks. Jenny assumed they were his arms, but she couldn't be sure. It had large, piercing green eyes and long, pointy ears that resembled it's fangs.  
  
The creature wasn't even the worst part. Next to the goblin was a ghostly white creature. Jenny realized the mass of cloth was Val, and she gasped. Her sister was even paler than the last time Jenny had seen her, and thinner. The goblin must have been starving her. Jenny rushed to her sister's side. Her pulse was low and her breaths were short and few. Jenny shuddered to think that Val, who was always so strong, was on the brink of death.  
  
"I believe," Jenny whispered helplessly.  
  
"Good, good. It's progress," the goblin said, "now you?" He had turned to look at Karly.  
  
"I'll never believe," she said, snarling at the goblin, "Never, never, never." A soft wind began blowing through the house.  
  
"What?" the goblin hissed.  
  
"I'll never believe," Karly repeated defiantly.  
  
"Didn't your parents ever teach you to never say never?" the goblin asked, sounding annoyed.  
  
"No!" she replied. The wind grew stronger and stronger until it sounded like a thousand babies shrieking. It gathered the books and papers in it's arms and they spun round and round. Jenny grabbed Val's cold hand and began chanting, "I believe." The chant grew louder and louder until Jenny was yelling at the top of her lungs. The wind seemed to calm down a little, but Jenny couldn't stop the goblin alone and she knew it. Jenny sighed sadly. If she didn't get help soon, Val would die.  
Karly must have been thinking the same thing, because reluctantly she grabbed Jenny's hand and began chanting, "I believe." Slowly, ever so slowly, the wind came to a full stop. The goblin smiled, showing his disgustingly long fangs.  
  
"Congratulations. Your sister is in your hands now," the goblin said, and disappeared. When he was gone, everything in the living room returned to normal, the tunnel was gone and all.  
  
Jenny and Karly knelt over Val, and slowly she regained consciousness.  
  
"You believed," she whispered, and hugged each of her sisters.  
  
To be continued................  
  
**A/N: **I know, there was no mention of anything that has to do with Harry Potter just yet, but Chapter 1 holds many surprises-like Brandon said, Val's a witch.  
  
  



	2. Chapter 1- Night of the Witch

**Title: **The Girl In My Dreams (1/10)  
  
**Author: **Angelina Johnson  
  
**E-mail: **BlewGoo2@aol.com  
  
**Category: **Romance/ Angst/Darkfic  
  
**Keywords: ** Fred Weasley, Quidditch, Fire, Muggles  
  
**Spoilers: **All Books  
  
**Rating: **PG-13  
  
**Summary:** Growing up a Muggle, Val Bradley learns the truth that she is a witch, and leaves her American Muggle family behind to live with her aunt. She attends Hogwarts, and many adventures are abound for the little witch.   
  
**Disclaimer:** This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.  
  
**A/N: **Val Bradley is the same age as the Weasley twins, Katie Bell, Angelina Johnson, Alicia Spinnet, and Lee Jordan. This story takes place during their Hogwarts school days. Also, American Goblins are different than European Goblins, like the ones that work in Gringott's.  
  
**The Girl In My Dreams  
Chapter 1  
**Night of the Witch  
  
Val Bradley's adventures with goblins were not the first of the strange things to happen to the girl, and it certainly would not be the last.  
  
Val Bradley was a Muggle born witch, an American at that, but she had no clue that such a thing was true, and if her parents got their way, she never would know.  
  
Unfortunately, it would be almost impossible to hide the truth from Val. The twins, Jenny and Karly, had learned that their little sister was a witch during the goblin-kidnapping ordeal, and Brandon Bradley had an idea that it would be Jenny who ultimately revealed the truth.  
  
Or not.  
  
It was a dark night, and there was a lightning storm that lit the sky brightly every few seconds. Val was sitting on the back porch with Jenny, just watching it, when she turned to her older sister.  
  
"Jenny? What's Dad hiding from me?" Val looked so innocent, and Jenny wished she could tell her sister the truth, but she couldn't manage it. Part of Jenny didn't want to disobey her father, but the other part wanted her sister to know the truth, to know what she was. The first part won.  
  
"What'd you mean?" Jenny said, trying to sound as if she knew nothing. Val looked at her angrily.  
  
"Don't play stupid with me, Jen, I know you and Karly are hiding something from me, and so are Dad and Mom, and I want to know what it is! It's about me, and you know it, Jenny." Jenny frowned.  
  
"I can't tell, Val. There's nothing to know. Soon it will be over, and you can know, but for now, we have to keep things quiet."  
  
"I want to know, Jenny!" Val was pleading with her sister to tell, but Jenny shook her head.   
  
"It's July 20 today, right?" Val nodded angrily.  
  
"We'll tell you sometime in September, 'kay, Val?" Val remained quiet for a moment, and then spoke.  
  
"No, Jen, it's not okay. All of you know something about me that I don't, and I don't thinks it's fair."  
  
"Damn it, Val, you think I don't want to tell you? If I tell, I'm dead meat, and you're better off not knowing." With that, Jenny stood up and left her sister alone with the lightning storm.  
  
Val stood up, and walked slowly up to bed.  
  
The next day, Val was the one to get the mail, and there was a letter addressed in green ink, 'Miss Valerie Bradley.' Val took the letter, and threw the rest on the table. She peeled it open carefully, and read it three times through. What she read she didn't believe.  
  


HOGWARTS SCHOOL  
of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  


  


Headmaster: ALBUS DUMBLEDORE  
(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf.  
Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed.  
of Wizards)  


  
Dear Miss Bradley,  
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.  
Term begins September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.  
Yours sincerely,  
Minerva McGonagall  
Minerva McGonagall  
Deputy Headmistress  
  
  


HOGWARTS SCHOOL  
of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY  


  
UNIFORM:  
First year students will require:  
1. Three sets of plain work robes (black)  
2. One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear  
3. One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)  
4. One winter cloak (black, silver fastenings)  
Please note that all pupils' clothes should carry name tags.  
  
COURSE BOOKS:  
All students should have a copy of the following:  
The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1)   
by Miranda Goshawk   
A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot  
Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling  
A Beginners' Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch  
One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phllida Spore  
Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger  
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander  
The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self Protection   
by Quentin Tremble  
  
OTHER EQUIPMENT:  
1 wand  
1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)  
1 set glass or crystal phials  
1 telescope  
1 set brass scales  
Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad.  
  
PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT   
ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS.  
  
Val gasped, and yelled for anyone in her family, she didn't care who, just as long as she shared this incredible thing with anyone.  
  
Unfortunately, it was Elizabeth and Brandon who arrived first.  
  
"I'm a witch, I'm a witch, and they want me to go to a school for witches and wizards like me!" Both of her parents turned ghostly pale.  
  
"No," Elizabeth said in horror.  
  
"What? This is what I've always dreamed of, what are you people so horrified about?"  
  
"You're not going to this school, Val, I won't allow it," Brandon said angrily.  
  
"Why not?" Val asked, hurt  
  
"Yes, why not, Brandon?" said a voice. Val turned around and saw a woman who she had never before in her life seen. She had green eyes and dark brown hair. She was a short woman, not a whole lot taller than Val herself, but she was commanding, and her voice carried an air of confidence.  
  
"Marcie," Brandon whispered angrily.  
  
"What is going on here? Who are you," she said, looking at the woman her father had just addressed, "And why on earth can't I go to this Hogwarts place?"  
  
"Ah, Val, forgive me for not introducing myself. My name is Marcie Fenton, and this is my sister, Elizabeth Fenton Bradley. I'm a Muggle born witch."  
  
"What's a Muggle?" Val interrupted.  
  
"Non-magic folk, like your mum, dad, and Karly. You're a Muggle born witch as well. I've known since your birth that you were different, and Jenny as well, but as soon as Jenny got a letter from Hogwarts, asking her to attend, they ordered I erase her memory, and never, ever, return to this house again. They banished me, in other words."  
  
"Why? And why can't I go to Hogwarts?" Val persisted.  
  
"Because your mother and I don't approve of magic. I don't want a witch in this house."  
  
"BUT I WANT TO GO!" Val yelled angrily. Brandon sighed, and Elizabeth nodded. Obviously, the two had planned on this.  
  
"If you become a witch, know that you are NOT welcome in this house anymore. You will find somewhere else to live."  
  
"I'll take her in," Marcie offered. Val looked at her aunt hopefully. She had never felt that she belonged in the Bradley house, had always felt like a bit of an outcast, and now she understood why. She wanted to go and learn how to use her powers, to learn more about what she was.  
  
"It's your choice, Val," Elizabeth said coldly.  
  
"I want to be a witch. I want to go to Hogwarts. So, I've decided to go with Aunt Marcie."  
  
"Pack and leave then. Witches aren't welcome here, are they, Marcie?" Marcie shook her head angrily.  
  
Val packed as quickly as she could, without another word to the family she had grown up with. If they wanted her out for becoming what she'd always wanted to be, then she'd get out and start a new life. Fine with her.  
  
Jenny was the only one who said good-bye to Val. Val wondered if Jenny knew that she was a witch, too, but she knew that Jenny didn't know, and probably never would.  
  
That morning, Val Bradley left behind the life she had lived for the past ten years as a Muggle, and soon she would be a witch.   
  
"Aunt Marcie, where are we going?" Marcie looked at her, and shook her head.  
  
"To England. I live in a small house on Ottery Street Catchpole. There is a wizarding family down the street, the Weasley's, and they have twins your age. Fred and George, I think. They're going to Hogwarts, too."  
  
"Is Hogwarts in England?"  
  
"Well, no one knows exactly for sure where Hogwarts is, but it's believed to be in Scotland."  
  
"Then why was I invited? I'm an American, Aunt Marcie."  
  
"Not really, dear. Your mum grew up in England, and I still live there. I was one of the better witches in my day, and you should be better than I was. If that's true, well...... Let's just say that there are no American schools of magic that are even close to being as good as Hogwarts. Do you understand?"  
  
"I guess so, but I suppose I'll be a bit clueless about wizard stuff when I get to Hogwarts, right?"  
  
"Yes, but I'll try and fill you in on as much as I possibly can. Let's see......... Quidditch."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Quidditch. It's the wizarding world's sport. Everyone follows it, sort of like how Muggle's follow hockey."  
  
"Hockey? I hate hockey."  
  
"It's more like basketball on brooms, with a bit of baseball thrown in. You fly through the air on brooms, and there are seven members on a teem. There are three Chasers, two Beaters, a Seeker, and a Keeper. There are four balls used in the sport, the Quaffle, two Bludgers, and a Golden Snitch. The three Chasers pass the Quaffle back and forth and try to score in one of the three golden hoops in the air. The Keeper tries to prevent the Chasers from scoring. Each time you score you get ten points. Then there are the Beaters. They carry around clubs, and they hit the two Bludgers at opponents to try and stop the other team from scoring or something. The game ends only when the Seeker catches the tiny Golden Snitch. It is worth one hundred and fifty points, and most times the team whose Seeker catches the Snitch wins, but not always. Do you understand, Val?"  
  
"Not really, but I'll catch on, I think."  
  
"All right. Sorry I couldn't make it clearer, doll."  
  
"It's okay. What else do I need to know about?"  
  
"You need to know about........ You-Know-Who."  
  
"Who is You-Know-Who, and why don't you say his name?"  
  
"His name is.............. His name is Voldemort, but don't make me say it again. He was a horrible, horrible man........ He wasn't even really a man, he had made himself practically immortal. He was awful, out to kill all who refused to follow him."  
  
"What happened?"  
  
"He just vanished."  
  
"What- how?"  
  
"He was just about to get almost everyone out of his way that really mattered. The night he fell, he had just killed James Potter, and then was out to kill his son, Harry. But Lily Potter demanded that he kill her, not Harry, so he did, and then he attempted to kill Harry, but............"  
  
"But what, Aunt Marcie?"  
  
"He couldn't kill that little boy."  
  
"Wow."  
  
"Yes, wow."  
  
The two sat in silence, before Marcie said, "Houses. You need to know about the four houses of Hogwarts. On your first night, you are sorted into one of the four houses. Slytherin is the worst, pray you're not in it. It's full of You-Know-Who's supporter's kids, and all the dark wizards that came from Hogwarts were Slytherins. Hufflepuff is supposed to be full of riff-raffs, but I was a Hufflepuff, and there's nothing wrong with it, it is by far better than Slytherin. Ravenclaws are supposed to be the smart ones, and it's a pretty good house, but everyone says Gryffindor is the best. They say all the brave ones, the ones that stand up to You-Know-Who types, are from there."  
  
"I want to be in Gryffindor, then," she said.  
  
"I hope that you get what you want, doll."  
  
Val was already enjoying life with her aunt much more than life at the Bradley house. It was much more pleasant, and she could do what she wanted, including read in her private library all day long.  
  
Finally, two weeks before Hogwarts was to start, Marcie decided it was time to go into Diagon Alley and get her things for school.  
  
They went into London, and Val was looking for some magnificent entrance, but there was one nowhere to be seen. Instead, Marcie lead her into a dumpy little pub called the Leaky Cauldron.  
  
"This is the great entrance to this big wizard place?" Val asked in disbelief.  
  
"I know it's not some big glamorous thing like you expected, but honey, you haven't seen Diagon Alley yet." Marcie quickly led Val through the pub and out the back door into a little courtyard. There was a brick wall, and Marcie tapped on it with her wand-Val didn't pay attention to exactly what she was doing, but somehow, the wall turned into an archway. Val looked through it, and gasped when she saw a street full of shops.  
  
"Welcome to Diagon Alley," Marcie said, laughing as Val followed her. There were so many shops, and Val wanted to go into them all. Marcie laughed again when Val told her this.  
  
"We have to get money out of Gringott's first," she said.  
  
"Gringott's? What's that?" Val asked.   
  
"Gringott's is the wizard bank. It's run by goblins."  
  
"Goblins?" Val asked, shaking from head to toe.  
  
"Why are you afraid of goblins, honey?" Marcie asked, and Val told her the story of the goblin that had kidnapped her.  
  
"Oh, Val, American goblins aren't the same as the ones over here. These goblin's are perfectly friendly." So Val, feeling a bit more easy about going into a place run by goblins, went inside with her aunt.  
  
Marcie led her to a cart, and Val got into it eagerly. Marcie told the goblin that was leading them her vault number, then turned to Val and said, "I always get a bit uneasy when I ride in these things."  
  
The cart took off at a lightning pace, and Val's ponytail whipped in the wind. When the cart stopped in front of a vault, Marcie looked sick, but Val couldn't wait to get the cart going again.  
  
"You actually enjoy riding in this infernal cart?" Marcie asked.  
  
"Yeah. It's just like a roller coaster," Val said, laughing. Marcie scooped odd looking coins up from the vault, and then climbed back into the cart.  
  
"What are these things?" Val asked, and Marcie explained about Knuts, Sickles, and Galleons as quickly as she could, but as soon as the cart started, she shut her mouth.  
  
A few minutes later, the two were walking in the sun, and Marcie led Val to a place called Ollivander's.  
  
"This is where we get you a wand," Marcie said as they entered the peculiar little store.  
  
"Ah, Miss Fenton, I've been expecting you. 12 inches, hickory and dragon heart string, I believe?" Marcie nodded as the strange man came up to them from behind the counter.  
  
"And this must be your niece, Valerie. I have been selling wands for a very long time, madam, and I never forget a single wand I sell." Val got a creepy feeling as the man spoke to her.  
  
"Ah, forgive me for not introducing myself. The name's Ollivander." He shut up then, and then he handed her a wand.  
  
"Hickory, 9 inches, unicorn tail. Wave it over your head." Val did so, and nothing happened. Mr. Ollivander snatched the wand back.  
  
"Maple, 12 inches, phoenix feather." She waved this one above her head with the same result.  
  
Val tried wand after wand, but each had the same effect as the first.  
  
"7 and a half inches, pine, with a veela hair. Very uncommon mix. Try it." Val took the wand and waved it over her head. Sparks flew from the end of the wand, and Mr. Ollivander cried, "Excellent." He put the wand back in it's box and handed it to Marcie, who then paid for it and exited.  
  
"Aunt Marcie, what's a veela?"  
  
"Well, it's hard to explain. Have you heard Muggle legends with sirens in them?"  
  
"Yes, many."  
  
"A veela is quite like a siren, only they don't attract with a song, but with their beautiful looks. I pray that you never meet a veela, Val."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Just trust me, okay?" Val nodded, and the two walked on down the street. They went into Madam Malkin's and got robes, Flourish and Blott's for books, the Apothecary for Potion's ingredients, and finally, they went into a pet emporium.  
  
"What would you like? I don't want you to be without a companion."  
  
"Um, I don't know."  
  
"Might I suggest an owl, Miss? They're dead useful, carrying your mail for you, and they make good pets as well." Neither had noticed the salesman come up behind them.  
  
"That sounds like a good idea. May I get an owl, Aunt Marcie?"  
  
"Sure. Just pick one out." Val picked a night owl that had brown and white feathers, with hints of black thrown in. She said it was beautiful.  
  
"What are you going to name it?" Marcie asked as they walked back into the sun of Diagon Alley.  
  
Val thought a moment, then said, "Porter. She was my best friend back in Rhode Island."  
  
"Good choice, Val. Do you want to go home now, or go into Quality Quidditch Supplies?"  
  
"Well, as much as I'd love to see all of Diagon Alley, I have something I wanted to watch on television."  
  
"There are no televisions at Hogwarts, you know."  
  
"That's what I figured. That's why I want to watch as much as possible before going to Hogwarts." Marcie rolled her eyes at her niece, who was still a Muggle at heart, and they returned back to their home on Ottery St. Catchpole.  
  
That night, Marcie had visitors for the first time since Val had arrived. The doorbell rang, and Val opened the door to see a red-headed boy that looked about her age.  
  
"Hi, I'm George Weasley," he said. Val's first impression was that he was not shy at all.  
  
"Val. Bradley."   
  
"I've never met you before. Does Miss Fenton still live here?"  
  
"Oh, yeah. I'm her niece. I moved in with her so that I could attend school."  
  
Just then, Marcie came down and interrupted the conversation.  
  
"Oh, hello, er......"  
  
"George. It's okay, not many people can tell Fred and I apart, I get it all the time." Marcie smiled.  
  
"Val, this is George Weasley, from down the street. He's one of the twins I told you about."  
  
"Yes, we've just met. If you don't mind, I'm going to go watch the end of the Braves game."   
  
"Braves?" George asked after Val had left.  
  
"It's an America baseball team."  
  
"Is that where she's from?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"The states, right? I can tell by her accent and her attitude."  
  
"The states, all right. And a damn Yankee at that."  
  
"Miss Fenton?"  
  
"Marcie, George."  
  
"Marcie, what's baseball?"  
  
"It's one of their sports. I had to enchant the television so that I got the channels she wanted."  
  
"Oh. Well, my mum asked me to bring you this," he said, handing her a basket.  
  
"Thank you very much, George."  
  
"Your welcome. By the way, is Val going to Hogwarts like Fred and I are?"  
  
"Yes." With that, George left.  
  
The next day, he was back, and he had brought a boy identical to himself with him.  
  
"I'm Fred," the other one said, introducing himself to Val. The boys had come to see if she wanted pre-Hogwarts flying lessons, since she was a Muggle-born and had never touched a magical broom before in her life.  
  
Val graciously accepted the offer, and spent the day in the broom. She was a bit shaky at first, but by the time she was ready to go home, she was flying like a pro.  
  
After that day, the Weasley twins walked down to Val's aunt's house, asking if she wanted to do some wizarding thing or other. She accepted each time, and each day she felt more and more comfortable with the idea of going to Hogwarts.  
  
Finally, it was August 31st. Marcie had told her to go to bed at ten, but Val was restless, and Marcie gave her permission to sit up and watch the Braves game, which, instead of starting at six, had started at nine-thirty.  
  
The game went into extra innings, and by the time it ended, she was finally weary enough to sleep. Marcie had promised her that if she needed more sleep she could sleep during the train ride to Hogwarts.  
  
So at one o'clock in the morning, September 1st, only a few short hours before the start of the rest of her life, Val Bradley fell into a peaceful sleep.  
  
To be continued....................  
  



	3. Chapter 2- Hogwarts Bound

**Title: **The Girl In My Dreams (2/10)  
  
**Author: **Angelina Johnson  
  
**E-mail: **BlewGoo2@aol.com  
  
**Category: **Romance/ Angst/Darkfic  
  
**Keywords: ** Fred Weasley, Quidditch, Fire, Muggles  
  
**Spoilers: **All Books  
  
**Rating: **PG-13  
  
**Summary:** Growing up a Muggle, Val Bradley learns the truth that she is a witch, and leaves her American Muggle family behind to live with her aunt. She attends Hogwarts, and many adventures are abound for the little witch.   
  
**Disclaimer:** This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.  
  
**A/N: **Val Bradley is the same age as the Weasley twins, Katie Bell, Angelina Johnson, Alicia Spinnet, and Lee Jordan. This story takes place during their Hogwarts school days.   
  
**The Girl In My Dreams  
Chapter 2  
**Hogwarts Bound  
  
Val woke up the morning of September 1st, and she felt ready to vomit. There was a feeling in the pit of her stomach that just made her sick. She was so nervous, not knowing what the future held for her, not knowing what she was walking into. She had no idea what Hogwarts would be like, what house she'd be in, or anything. The one question that had been answered was that she'd have at least one friend. Two, for the matter, but they may as well have been one.  
  
Val had been with the Weasley twins every day for the past two weeks, and they had somewhat helped her to prepare for Hogwarts, but they couldn't really prepare her, for they had never been either. They had aided her in learning at least a little bit about the magical world so that she at least wasn't jumping in blindfolded.  
  
The train for Hogwarts was set to leave at 11:00 a.m. from Platform 9 and 3/4 at King's Cross Station. Her aunt, Marcie, had long ago told Val that Platform 9 and 3/4 was not visible to Muggle eyes, and the only way to get to it was to simply walk through the barrier between platforms nine and ten.   
  
Val was ready, or at least as ready as she would ever be, so that morning they left the house on Ottery Street Catchpole and headed for King's Cross Station. They got there at quarter to eleven, and Marcie led her to the barrier that they were to go through to get to her platform. They leaned through it as casually as possible, and once on the other side, Val gasped. There was a scarlet steam-engine with the name 'Hogwarts Express' painted in gold on the front. There were many compartments to the train, and Val gave her aunt one hug before boarding one towards the back. She stepped inside, and was quickly pulled into the very back compartment by two redheaded boys.  
  
"Fred, George! What are you doing?" she shrieked.  
  
"Saving you from the Slytherin's. Wood and Percy say that that's the compartment that they _always_ sit in, and if they catch anyone else in there, it's bad news indeed. Wood says they used some sort of a spell on him that turned his hair green, and whenever he tried to say something, he sounded like a frog," Fred said.  
  
Val shook her head, then answered, "Percy's one of your older brothers, right?"  
  
"Yep," George answered.  
  
"Who's Wood, then?"  
  
"Oliver Wood. He's in Percy's year. He's Keeper on the Gryffindor Quidditch team. He and Percy are friends."  
  
"What about me?" Another redheaded boy entered the room, this one looking much more serious. In her visits to the Weasley house, Val had quickly learned two things-the Weasley's were all redheaded, and that there were _seven_ of them. She had also figured out how to tell Fred and George apart, but she didn't tell anyone how she managed this.  
  
"Oh, hey, Perce. We were just telling Val about you and Wood."  
  
"You're the one that's at our house everyday, then? They hide you quite well."  
  
"They don't do anything well, Percy. It just happened that you were always somewhere where the twins weren't." Percy laughed, and then a boy about Percy's age walked in. He was a bit taller, and stocky. He had brown hair and blue eyes, and he smiled at Percy, then at the twins.  
  
"Hey, Perce. Gred and Forge, you two are going to Hogwarts this year? I thought it was next year for you."  
  
"Nope, this year."  
  
"And who's your friend?"  
  
"Val. Bradley. She lives down the street from us. Val, this is Oliver Wood. You'll learn to ignore him."  
  
"Nice to meet you, Val," he said, and smiled.  
  
"Ditto," Val replied, smiling. Everyone looked puzzled.  
  
"Same to you," Val said.  
  
"I take it you're from the States?" Oliver asked.  
  
"Yeah, I guess I still need to get used to things here." The rest of them laughed, and Percy dragged a reluctant Oliver out of the compartment and into the next.  
  
As soon as they had closed the door, it slid back open again, and in walked a girl that looked exactly like her best friend, Porter. She was short and skinny, with brown hair and brown eyes. The resemblance was astounding.  
  
"Porter," Val muttered so quietly that she thought no one else had heard.  
  
"Porter? Excuse me, but my name is Gwynn Lions, not Porter. Who are you, anyway? Are you another stupid Mudblood?" Fred and George looked very angry at this statement, "My parents say that trash like that shouldn't be allowed at Hogwarts, and I totally agree. Unfortunately, I'll be seeing you around."  
  
Fred and George were very glad when the girl left. She may have looked like Val's friend, but the two were nothing alike.   
  
"Bet you twenty Galleons that she'll be a Slytherin," said Fred, and George nudged him, whispering something that sounded very much like, "We don't have twenty Galleons, Fred."  
  
"What was that she called me? 'Mudblood.' What does that mean?" Val asked, and they both looked very angry all over again.  
  
"It's a really rude term for Muggle-born. It means common blood, or bad blood. Has your aunt Marcie told you about pure-bloods, and half-bloods, and things like that?" George asked.  
  
"No, she didn't mention it."  
  
"Well, there are Muggle-borns, like you, who are born into Muggle families and have Muggle parents. Then there are half-bloods. Wood's a half-blood, that means that one of his parents is a Muggle, and the other is either a witch or a wizard. Then there are pure-bloods. That means that both of your parents had magic in their blood. There are two types of pure-bloods. One type, like us, is the kind that could care less about your blood, as long as you have a good personality. The other type, like that Lions bitch that was just in here, think they're better than other wizards and witches because of their parents. You'll need to learn to ignore them, because if you let them get to you, then you'll be miserable, and seven years of misery is not a good thing, Val."  
  
"Thanks for warning me," Val said, shaking her head.  
  
"Who is Porter, anyway?" Fred asked.  
  
"Huh? Oh, Porter was my best friend back in the States. She looked exactly like that girl, but she was so much nicer. She is nothing at all like Porter, though, let me tell you."  
  
"Weird. Identical strangers, aye?" Fred asked.  
  
"Yeah, pretty strange. So, which house do you boys think you'll be in?" Val asked, trying to change the subject.  
  
"All of our brothers before us, you know, Bill, Charlie, and Percy, have been in Gryffindor, and our parents were in there, too, but you never know with us," George said.  
  
"I pray that we're in there," Fred said, "I'd kill myself if I ended up in Slytherin."  
  
"Oh, I quite agree, I don't much want to end up in Slytherin, either. I hope I'm in Gryffindor, but Ravenclaw wouldn't be too bad, either, and I could even stand Hufflepuff." Fred laughed nervously.  
  
After a little while, a little lady pushing a cart came in.  
  
"Do any of you want something?" Val nodded, and bought several packs of Chocolate Frogs, a bag of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, and a pack of Pumpkin Pasties, all of which she had eaten with her aunt and had enjoyed. She was a bit wary of the Bertie Bott's, her aunt had told her of many disturbing flavors.  
  
"How about you two?" the kind witch asked, and the twins shook their heads, saying that they had brought sandwiches.  
  
"Dumbledore- I haven't gotten him yet. Sounds amazing," Val said, reading the collector card that she had pulled out of the Chocolate Frog bag.  
  
"Yeah, you'll be meeting him soon, you know. He's supposedly the best headmaster Hogwarts had ever had."  
  
"Charlie and Bill say he's awesome, so he must be pretty good," Fred added.  
  
"Those are your oldest brothers, right? Bill and Charlie?" Val asked.  
  
"Yep," George said. They chatted nervously until they got to Hogwarts, now and then people coming into their compartment for a minute or two.  
  
As they got off the train, a voice could be heard, yelling, "Firs' years? Firs' year o'er here!" Val looked at the man who was yelling, and she nearly screamed. He was gigantic, at least three times the size of a normal man. Val would have been alarmed if it weren't for the fact that his eyes looked so darn friendly, and she didn't think that there was any harm in him.  
  
"That's Hagrid, the gamekeeper. Bill and Charlie have told us lots about him. They say he's really nice."  
  
"Follow me," Hagrid said, and they all did. He led them to a lake where there were at least a dozen little boats.  
  
"No more 'an four to a boat," he ordered, and Val climbed into a boat with Fred and George. They were joined by a tall, skinny girl with shoulder-length dark brown hair and green-brown eyes. The girl didn't say anything, she just climbed into the boat and helped row.  
  
As they rounded a bend, they gasped as Hagrid told them they should be seeing the castle soon. The castle was the most beautiful thing that Val had ever seen, and she was sorry to lose sight of it when they rowed into a cavern. They exited the boat, and were greeted by a severe looking woman. Her hair was in a tight bun, and she had square framed glasses on.  
  
"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall," Hagrid said as they clambered out of their boats and onto the land. They followed her through tall, wide double doors, and the she spoke to them.  
  
"You are about to be sorted. Wait here just one moment while I make sure that they're ready for you." She was gone before you had a chance to snap your fingers, gone through a door on the right of the entrance way. She poked hear head out the door, and ordered that they come in in a single file line.  
  
The first years entered a room that seemed like it had no ceiling. They looked up, and all they saw was the sky, which was cloudy, but the full moon was still just barely visible.  
  
"S'pose it's enchanted to look like it does outside," Fred murmured, and Val nodded. She looked around at the rest of the room, there were four tables that were filled with students, and she assumed that they were for each seperate house. There was a fifth table full of adults, and they sat on one side only, so that they were facing the students. This was the staff table.  
  
Val was beginning to wonder _how _they managed to sort the students into houses when Professor McGonagall place a three legged stool in front of the staff table, and then placed a tattered and torn old stool on it. Val watched the hat nervously, and then the brim tore open, and the hat began to _sing.  
  
_ "Welcome to a new year,  
  
Good day to everyone,  
  
I am here to announce,  
  
A new sorting has begun,  
  
I will determine where you go,  
  
Right now, you are dying to know!  
  
If Gryffindor's the place for you,  
  
Then you are brave at heart,  
  
You have daring, nerve and chivalry,  
  
And you might be rather smart,  
  
Maybe Ravenclaw's where you'll go,   
  
If you've got a ready mind,   
  
You are like those of wit and learning,   
  
And you'll be with your kind,   
  
Or then again, there's Hufflepuff,   
  
Where they are just and loyal,   
  
Patient, they are  
  
And unafraid of toil,  
  
Last of all there's Slytherin,  
  
You'll make your real friends,  
  
Those cunning folks'll use all means,  
  
To achieve their ends,  
  
Now this new year will be good,  
  
You'll be where you belong,  
  
So try me on and I'll tell you,  
  
Just as soon as I finish this song!"  
  
The hall burst in to applause, and Val breathed a sigh of relief.  
  
"Anadia, Niko- RAVENCLAW!" The hat yelled, as a boy with light brown hair and brown eyes slid the hat off his head and walked to one of the middle tables.   
  
"Anadia, Bean- HUFFLEPUFF!" A boy identical to Niko Anadia walked to the other middle table.  
  
"Baker, Helen- GRYFFINDOR!" The girl who had been in the boat with Fred, George and Val walked over to the far table.  
  
"Bell, Katie- GRYFFINDOR!" A blond haired, blue eyed girl walked over to the same table and sat next to Helen Baker.  
  
"Bernstein, Kyle- RAVENCLAW!"  
  
"Bradley, Val!" Val walked quickly up to the stool, and jammed the hat on her head.  
  
"Hmm, your aunt was Marcie Fenton? Hufflepuff, wasn't she? Yes, yes, you'd do much better in Slytherin, though....... Or perhaps you'd rather have a view at the other side. Yes, better be GRYFFINDOR!" The hat yelled. Val was shaking. She had been very close to being put in Slytherin.  
  
Val sat down on one side of Oliver Wood at the table on the far left. He smiled at her, and then sat, "Looks like we're in the same house, huh?" Val grinned back, and looked up in time to hear "Hughes, Madeline" being sorted into Hufflepuff.  
  
The next name called was "Johnson, Angelina." She was a tall black girl, with warm, chocolate brown eyes, and and black, flowing hair. Val looked at Fred and George, and she saw Fred mouth something to George. She couldn't understand all of it, but she distinctly saw his lips form the words "spend," "life," and "with." Val rolled her eyes.  
  
"GRYFFINDOR!" the hat bellowed, and Angelina came and sat down next to Katie Bell.  
  
The next boy sorted, Lee Jordan, also became a Gryffindor. He sat down on the other side of Oliver.   
  
Gwenn Lions was the next person called up, and it was no suprise at all to Val that she was immediately placed in Slytherin.  
  
Val could hear Angelina and Katie talking across the table.  
  
"I hope Alicia gets put in Gryffindor," Katie said.  
  
"Yeah. And Fred," Angelina replied.  
  
"What about George?" Katie asked.  
  
"Yeah, him too, I guess." Val looked at them.  
  
"You two know the Weasley twins?" she asked, and they nodded.  
  
"Why do you ask?" Angelina questioned.  
  
"Oh, I live down the street from them. My name's Val."  
  
"Angelina," she said, shaking Val's hand.  
  
"Katie," she said, shaking Val's hand as well. They didn't talk any more just then, because their friend, Alicia Spinnet, was called up to the hat.  
  
"GRYFFINDOR!" the hat bellowed.   
  
"Yes," Angelina and Katie muttered to each other.  
  
"I don't believe it," Alicia said as she sat down next to Angelina.   
  
"'Leece, this is Val. Val, this is Alicia," Angelina said, introducing them to each other.  
  
"Nice to meet you," Alicia said.  
  
"Same," Val said back.  
  
"Weasley, Fred- GRYFFINDOR!"  
  
"Weasley, George- GRYFFINDOR!"  
  
"Excellent," the twins said. Fred sat down next to Val, and George next to him.  
  
"Val, have you met our friends? Angelina, Alicia, and Katie?"  
  
"Yeah, we just met," Val said.  
  
"All right, then. This is Lee, he's another of our friends. We're well prepared, and by some miracle, we're all Gryffindors," said Fred, but he was silenced just then as a man with very long silver hair and an equally long silver beard stood up. He had twinkling blue eyes, and a long, crooked nose. This was Albus Dumbledore.  
  
"Welcome, each and every one of you, to a new year. I'd like to offer an especially warm welcome ot our new students, and I know those of you returning have heard this as many as six times before, but I will say it so that the first years are warned. The forest on the edge of the grounds is off limits, as is the village of Hogsmeade to first and second years, and older students with no permission slip. I am sure that I haven't forgotten to tell you anything important, so let the feast begin."  
  
Val was amazed as the plates in front of them magically filled with food. She took a bit of everything, for she suddenly realized that she was starving. Next to her, the Weasley twins and Oliver were doing the same.  
  
The food was delicious, Val had never tasted anything like it in her whole life. After everyone in the hall had finished with their meals, the plates filled again, this time with desserts. Again, she took a bit of everything, and she ate until her stomach felt as though it would burst.  
  
The feast was over, and they were directed to follow their house prefects to their Common Rooms.  
  
"What's a prefect?" Val asked Fred.  
  
"Smart person. Leader of the house, sort of, except that it's a student and not a teacher," he whispered back, and Val gave him a puzzled look. He shrugged back.  
  
They followed their house prefect up many winding staircases, down hall ways, and finally they came to a halt in front of a picture of a fat lady in a pink dress.  
  
"All right, the password is 'Quidditch'," the prefect said, and the fat lady's portrait swung open. The prefect climbed through the entrance, and everyone else followed. On the other side was a circular room with loads of tables and armchairs. On the far sides of the room, there were staircases, one said 'Boys', and the other said, 'Girls.' Val said good night to Lee Jordan and the Weasley's, and climbed up the stairs to the girl's dormitory. At the top, there were seven doors, and Val went through the one that said, 'First Years.'   
  
Inside were five canopy beds, and a trunk was at the foot of each. Val found the trunk that was hers, and sat down on her bed. On her left was Angelina, and on her right was Katie. Alicia and Helen were on the other side of the room.  
  
"G'night," Helen said sleepily, and climbed under her covers. The others, however, were not very tired, so Alicia sat on Katie's bed and Angelina joined Val on her's, and they talked for a little while.  
  
"I'm so glad that I got put in Gryffindor, I was afraid that since my dad was a Muggle and my mum was a Ravenclaw I'd be put in there. I guess not, though," Katie said.  
  
"My parents were both Gryffindors, but I still had my doubts, you know?" Alicia said.  
  
"My mum was a Ravenclaw, too, but I'm in Gryffindor, aren't I?" Angelina added.  
  
"My aunt was a Hufflepuff, and my parents are both Muggles, so I had no earthly idea where I'd end up, but I hoped for Gryffindor, and here I am. For one horrible moment I thought that stupid hat was going to make me a Slytherin. I could hear the thing thinking. It was very weird," Val added.  
  
"The hat said I'd do well in any of the houses _but_ Slytherin," Katie said, looking at Val.  
  
"The hat said that I would have done well in Ravenclaw, like my mum, but it knew I wanted to be with Katie," Angelina said.  
  
"The thing never had any doubt that I should be a Gryffindor. It said, 'Spinnet? Your parents were both GRYFFINDOR!' and then it was done," Alicia added, laughing.  
  
"It said to me something about my aunt. 'Hmm, your aunt was Marcie Fenton? Hufflepuff, wasn't she?' And then the stupid thing started babbling about Slytherin. 'Yes, yes, you'd do much better in Slytherin, though.......' And then it got really weird, saying something about the other side, I can't quite remember, but I think it said, 'Or perhaps you'd rather have a view at the other side. Yes, better be GRYFFINDOR.' It was really bizarre. Made me seem like a dark witch or something. As if!" Val said, but the others were still looking at her oddly.  
  
"I'm not, I've only just found out that I'm a witch, I've only known for a month or so, I don't know where that hat got off saying that stuff," Val said.  
  
"That hat's really smart, Val, it wouldn't have said that for no reason," Katie said warily.  
  
"Maybe it's just because I'm determined and stubborn, you know? Maybe it said that because it thought I would never give up when it came to getting what I want," she declared, trying to defend herself. She was regretting ever telling these three girls what the hat had said.  
  
"Are you guys going to shut up so that I can sleep? At least whisper, I don't want to be exhausted for our first day of school, I actually want to make a good impression on our teachers!" Helen said from the bed across the room. Val was thankful for her suggestion.  
  
"Sorry, Helen," Katie said, and Angelina and Allicia returned to their own beds. Val slid under the covers, and long after the silence was broken by snores, she fell asleep.  
  
The next morning, Val, Katie, Alicia and Angelina walked to the Great Hall, chatting openly the entire time. They seemed to have forgotten that Val had nearly been placed in Slytherin, and she was glad for this.  
  
"I can't wait for the Quidditch season to start, even if we can't play, it'll be interesting to watch. I just love Quiddtch!" Angelina said happily.  
  
"I only just learned about it, but Fred and George have been teaching me how to fly, and I can't wait until our flying lessons begin next week," Val said.  
  
"Oh, good, so you have flown before? I wouldn't want to go into flying lessons never having flown before," Alicia said.  
  
"Isn't that what they're for?" Katie asked sarcastically, "To teach you to fly?"  
  
"Yes, but I wouldn't want Slytherins sneering at me all through lessons, would you?" Alicia added, and Katie finally saw her point.  
  
They had finally reached the Great Hall when Fred, George, and Lee caught up to them.  
  
"We just set off a Dungbomb in the corridor, and the caretaker, Filch, had a fit. It's our first day and we've already got a detention," George said.  
  
"I saw the whole thing, it was hillarious, Filch yelling himself hoarse at Fred and George," Lee said.  
  
"Guys! We haven't even had a class yet!" Val said, but she couldn't help but laugh.  
  
"And, while we were in their, we swiped _this,_" Fred said, pulling an old bit of parchment out of his pocket.  
  
"What's so great about some ancient parchment?" Katie asked.  
  
"We don't know yet, but we're going to find out," George said.  
  
"Yeah, it was in a drawer labled 'Confiscated and Highly Dangerous'," Fred added.  
  
"How did you get it without Filch seeing?" Alicia asked.  
  
"I set off another Dungbomb and Fred grabbed it out of the drawer," George said, and they laughed some more.  
  
"Course schedules- classes begin this morning," Oliver Wood said, passing them a sheet of paper.   
  
"Monday morning- we've got Charms first, and then Potions this afternoon," Fred said, reading off of the paper.  
  
"Beware of Professor Snape, he's the potions master, and he's not the most friendly bloke on earth. Actually, he's one of the least friendly people I've ever met, and he hates Gryffindors particularly. He'll take points off left and right, he will," Oliver said.  
  
"Points?" Val asked.  
  
"Blimey, Val, don't tell me you don't know about points?" Oliver asked. She shook her head.  
  
"Every year, there's an inter-house cup championship. You get points for stuff like answering hard questions, helping teachers, and things like that. Points get taken away for things like wandering around at night and stuff like that. Whichever house has the most points at the end of the year wins, and the Great Hall is decorated in their colors for the leaving feast. They also get their names put on a trophy. Slytherin has won more years in a row than they deserve, let me tell you, so this year we Gryffindors had better win," Oliver said.  
  
"Oh," Val said.  
  
They ate the rest of breakfast quietly, and then left for the Charms room. Professor Flitwick, the teacher, was a tiny little man who had to stand on things to make himself tall enough to be seen over his desk. Val was amazed at how much fun the lesson was.  
  
That afternoon, their bubble was burst, because Double Potions with the Ravenclaws was far from fun.  
  
"At least it's not Double Potions with the Slytherin's, Wood says that makes him three times more insufferable than with any other house," Fred murmured.  
  
If the class truly had been three times worse, Val was sure she would have died down in the dungeon. Snape took ten points off of the Gryffindors. He took five for Helen and Lee's potion blowing up and hitting him, two for Fred's ink spilling, one for Alicia speaking out of turn, and two more for Angelina, Val and Katie 'talking while they should be listening'. They hadn't even been talking, and when one of the Ravenclaws, a boy named Kyle Bernstein, tried to point this out, Snape took two points from him as well.  
  
It was a huge relief to leave the dungeon two hours later.  
  


At dinner that night, Oliver Wood asked how their day had been, and soon he wished he had kept his big mouth shut.  
  
Snape "is such an imbecile! We weren't even talking and he took points off!" Katie said angrily.  
  
"Speaking out of turn! If he hadn't been telling us false information, I wouldn't have raised my hand, and if he had called on me, even when he stopped talking, then maybe I wouldn't have had to interrupt!" Alicia roared.  
  
"And if the stupid git hadn't banged his fist on the table we were sitting at, my ink wouldn't have tipped over and gotten all over his smelly feet," Fred cried.  
  
"And the man should have made it clear how the hell you make the damn potion. If he could actually teach, then maybe Helen and I would have known what to do and would have been able to prevent our cauldron from melting and our potion from getting all over him. Mind, the prat deserved it," Lee added.  
  
"The nerve of him, taking points off the Ravenclaws because Kyle was trying to get it through his slimy head that they weren't talking, that he was making it up!" Helen added.   
  
"Sounds like you had a bad run in with him, then?" Oliver said, and the first years nodded.  
  
The rest of their classes were not nearly so bad. Transfiguration with Professor McGonagall was tough, but interesting, and it was by far the most rewarding when they got it right. Charms with Professor Flitwick continued to be fairly enjoyable; they had now gotten to a point where they were making things float and fly around the room. Herbology with Professor Sprout was not the most exciting, but compared to History of Magic with Professor Binns, it was a ball. Professor Binns, the only ghost teacher at Hogwarts, taught very dull lessons, but at least he didn't take points off when they fell asleep in class. Astronomy was rather dull as well, staring at the stars for hours on end.  
  
Finally, the time came for flying lessons to start.  
  
"Thank Merlin we're with the Ravenclaws and not with the Slytherins," Fred murmured to Val as they walked down to the field together. This was the lesson that most had been waiting for, but Val had her doubts. They were quickly erased when the lesson began.  
  
Madam Hooch, the instructor, pointed to the twenty brooms laying on the grass and said, "Everyone, stand next to a broom." Val stood in between Lee and Alicia. Angelina and Katie were on Alicia's other side, and Fred and George were on Lee's. Helen, Val noted, was standing next to the Ravenclaw, Kyle Bernstein, the one that had defended the girls in Potions, and it wasn't the first time Val had a suspicion that there was something more than friendship between the two.  
  
"Now, say 'up'," Madam Hooch said, and Val did as she was told. She was pleased that her broom obeyed and flew into her hands. Alicia, Angelina, Katie, Fred and George were among those whose brooms obeyed. Lee's broom went up in the air, but it rose far above the trees and began to fly off.  
  
"NO!" Lee yelled, "COME BACK!"  
  
Niko Anadia, one of the Ravenclaws, sniggered a little bit, but he shut up when he yelled 'Up' and his broom simply rolled over.   
  
Kyle and Helen's brooms had similar reactions to Niko's, and Lloyd Kingman, another Gryffindor, couldn't even get his broom to move an inch. He kicked the broom and cursed at it.  
  
"Come on now people, keep trying if you fail! Very nice, Miss Bradley, Mr. Weasley. Excellent, Miss Spinnett, Mr. Weasley. Good, good, Miss Bell, Miss Johnson. Yes, Miss Baker, Mr. Berstein, now you've got it! Jordan, go get another broom out of the shed over there! Mr. Anadia, you are doing it all wrong!" Madam Hooch barked. At long last, all twenty students got their brooms to obey, and Madam Hooch examined their grips.  
  
"No, Mr. Anadia, that is incorrect! Mr. Jordan, have you actually been able to fly with that horrid grip?" Madam Hooch lectured. They quickly switched their grips.  
  
"All right, on my whistle, push off the ground. One, two, *WHOOSH*," Madam Hooch hollered, blowing her whistle. Val pushed off of the ground and felt the familiar sensation of flying. She circled around slowly, and then dove back down to the ground with a sudden jerk.  
  
"What's going on?" Val yelled, "It's doing this on it's own!" Val shrieked in horror as, twenty feet from the ground, the broom tossed her off.  
  
Suddenly Val was falling, and then just as suddenly, she felt arms catch her. She looked up, and smiling back down at her was Oliver Wood.  
  
"Nasty fall, that would have been. What happened?" he asked.  
  
"The broom was in control. I had no idea what was happening."  
  
"Yeah, those brooms are really old, not very good. They tend to take control. Even the best of fliers have been known to lose control of them. I know I have. You okay, then?"  
  
"Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks," she said quietly, and she began to squirm. Laughing, Oliver put her back on her own two feet.  
  
"Miss Bradley, do you need to go to the Hospital Wing?" Madam Hooch asked.  
  
"No. No, I'm totally fine. Can I have a different broom, though?" Val asked, smiling at the retreating figure of Oliver Wood.  
  
"Lucky thing he had a question about the Quidditch season, it was," Madam Hooch said, looking at Val, "And you're positive you don't need to go to the Hospital Wing?"  
  
"Ye..........." Val began.  
  
"Val, look at your wrist!" Fred called down from his broom, and looking down, Val felt extremely nauseous. Her wrist was turning funny shades of purple, and when she poked it, she wanted to scream.  
  
"Madam Hooch, I think I'll go to the Hospital Wing," she said, biting her lip.  
  
"All right then. Mr. Weasley, please escort her. You've flown enough times to know what we're doing," said Madam Hooch, and Fred swooped to the ground.  
  
"That was some fall, Bradley," he said, and looked into her eyes. He was smiling, but she knew it was just a front. She could see in his eyes that he had been truly concerned.  
  
"Lucky Oliver caught me, ay?" she said, laughing.  
  
"Does your wrist hurt, Val? It looks awful nasty." She nodded, and they walked in silence until they reached the castle doors.  
  
"All right, which was is the Hospital Wing? I've forgotten already," Fred murmured.  
  
"Oh, dear, here we go," Val muttered, "I haven't got a clue either."  
  
"How about we cause some mischief on the way, then? I tend to find things when I'm running from teachers," Fred said, and he pulled a bag of Dungbombs out of his pocket.  
  
"Weasley, you certainly are trouble, aren't you?"  
  
"Would you like to throw it?" he asked.  
  
"Yes," she said. She took the Dungbomb, and, making sure no one was watching, she tossed it. They were surrounded in a horrible smelling cloud of smoke, and they heard a yell from behind them. It was Argus Filch, the care taker.  
  
"Run," Fred hissed, and Val didn't hesitate. She set off at a sprint, Fred right behind her.   
  
As soon as they were sure that they had lost Filch, they slowed a bit. Val looked to her left, and there was the Hospital Wing.   
  
"I don't believe it," Val said, panting. She was still laughing, and so was Fred. She walked slowly into the room, making sure that she had caught her breath.  
  
"How may I help you, Miss Bradley?" Madam Pomfrey, the nurse, asked. Val showed the nurse her wrist, and she clicked her tongue in disapproval.  
  
"Nasty bruise, you've got there. How on earth did you manage it?" she asked.  
  
"I fell off my broom," Val said, grinning sheepishly.  
  
"And you landed on your wrist?" she asked in bewilderment.  
  
"No, Oliver Wood caught me before I hit the ground," Val said.  
  
"Ah, yes. Well, let me see that, and I'll have it fixed in a second."  
  
Madam Pomfrey was not kidding about the 'fix it in a second' part. All she had to do was say a few words and her wrist was fixed.  
  
"Thank you," Val murmured, and she and Fred turned to leave. However, when she walked around the corner, she smacked into Oliver Wood.  
  
"Hi, Oliver," she said.  
  
"How are you, Val? Are you all right?" he asked, and pointed toward the Hospital Wing that she had just left.  
  
"Oh, my wrist was swelling up, that's all. Thanks again for catching me," she said, smiling.  
  
"I wanted to talk to you for a second alone. Is that okay, Forge?" Oliver asked.  
  
"Sure," Fred said, " I'll see you in the Common Room, Val."  
  
"Why do you call him Forge?" Val asked, and looked up into Oliver's eyes.  
  
"It's a joke between me and the twins. A couple of years ago, when I first met them, Molly was getting hoarse from yelling at the two, so when she called them to dinner she said, Forge, come! and I've called them that ever since. They don't mind, though, because they've never said anything about it."  
  
Val smiled and said, "Well, what did you want to talk to me about?"  
  
"I was wondering if you had considered trying out for the Quidditch Team next year. You're a great player, and it's already been decided that I'm going to be captain next year."  
  
"Quidditch? Me?" Val asked, "I've never really thought about it."  
  
"Well, you should. See you later, Val," he said, and vanished.  
  
"Bye, Oliver."  
  


~~~  
  


School kept flying by that year, and Val enjoyed it more than anything else in her entire life. For a change she had more friends than one, and what wonderful friends they were. The terrible foursome, Angelina, Katie, Alicia, and Val herself, were totally inseperabler, and the only people more troublesome than them were Fred and George Weasley.   
  
No one said anything, but there was sort of an unspoken agreement between Oliver and Val, and even though she was eleven, she had a _huge_ crush. It would have been worse, but the look in Oliver Wood's eyes every time he saw Val made it obvious that the feeling was mutual.  
  
The school work at Hogwarts was difficult, but Val kept up with it best she could. She wasn't the ideal student, like Percy Weasley, but she got good enough grades. Fred and George managed decent grades, as did Alicia. Angelina managed grades more like Val's, slightly higher that decent, but lower than great. Katie was the exceptional student of the group, but even she was nothing compared to Percy. Katie was often spotted tutoring Lee Jordan, who had an extremely difficult time in Charms.  
  
When they weren't doing schoolwork, the seven were wreaking havoc on the school with Dungbomb's and fireworks. Fred and George already had had at least two dozen detentions, and the girl's, who were better at making quick escapes, only had about six each.  
  
Of course, on occasion they didn't feel like getting in trouble and settled down for a friendly game of Exploding Snap, or Wizard Chess. Val, who had never played Chess, Wizard or Muggle, before in her life, caught on quickly and soon could beat every single person in the Gryffindor House.   
  
The Gryffindor's loved it, and they made sure that Val played at least one person a night. She beat them all.  
  
Val's favorite part of Hogwarts was watching the Quidditch matches. She didn't miss a single one, and she payed close attention when the Gryffindor Team, which included Oliver Wood, played.  
  
Before Val knew it, it was nearly the end of school. There was only a week left, and all of their final exams had been finished.   
  
The only thing left was a school wide Wizarding Chess Tournament. Each house would choose one person to represent them, and then they would face off. Ravenclaw would play Gryffindor in the first round, and then the winner would face either Hufflepuff or Slytherin for the championship.  
  
The Gryffindors chose Val Bradley.  
  


~~~~  
  


The Ravenclaw contestant was Penelope Clearwater, and she put up a hard fight. Penelope was very intelligent, and each time she made a move, Val looked as though she were trapped, but each time, Val used it to her advantage. In the end, Penelope was angry, but shook Val's hand like a good sport.  
  
Kyle Flint defeated the Hufflepuff contender, and everyone was sure he had found a way to cheat because he was dumber than a brick.  
  
On the championship day, Val figured out that he had cast a spell on his pieces, and each time Val blinked, they were in a different place. Unfortunately, Professor McGonagall saw this, and she put in the nearest Slytherin to face Val while Kyle was punished.  
  
The nearest one was Kyle's little brother Marcus, and he was a pushover. Val beat him so easily that it may as well have been a mtach againt a brick.  
  
George, Fred, and Oliver lifted her into the air, and Professor McGonagall handed her a large trophy. Val had never been happier.  
  
Then the time came for her to board the train and go back to life with her aunt, Marcie. Val wanted to stay at Hogwarts with all of her friends, but she knew she would have more fun with Marcie than she would have with her family back in Rhode Island.  
  
The train ride back to Platform 9 and 3/4 went very quickly, and she waved good-bye to Angelina, Katie, and Alicia. Fred and George had left a short time before, saying that they would see her tomorrow. Oliver Wood kissed her on the cheek before flouncing away.  
  
And there, amidst the crowd, was her aunt Marcie. Pushing her way through the crowd, she ran to her, and together they drove back to their home.   
  
This was going to be a good summer after all.  


  


  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



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